German Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition government Thursday extended by six months an embargo on weapons exports to Saudi Arabia, instituted last October in response to the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Saudi women activists detained for almost a year offered their defence at an emotionally charged hearing on Wednesday, alleging torture and sexual harassment during interrogation, courtroom sources said.

The Saudi-Led coalition in Yemen launched raids on Houthi camps in the capital Sanaa, including the Al-Dailami air base, Al-Arabiya TV reported on Saturday.

Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, two representatives of the Saudi Fund for Development, and the Bahraini Oil and Gas Holding Company signed an agreement to fund oil and gas projects in Bahrain worth $300 million, in the presence of Oil Minister Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa.

The Albanian Foreign Ministry announced that it would make it possible for Gulf nationals, including Bahrain, to travel to Albania during the coming summer season without having to obtain an advance visa from Albania's embassies.

The influence of Saudi Arabia's Bin Laden family on its eponymous construction business has been curtailed in a restructuring that follows an anti-corruption crackdown by Riyadh, a document seen by Reuters shows.

On February 11, Bahrain's Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa met with the Australian Ambassador to the Kingdom of Bahrain, Ridwaan Jadwat, who resides in the Saudi capital Riyadh, hours after Hakeem Al-Araibi was released in Thailand and headed for Australia.

Protestors staged protests in front of the Emirati embassy building in the Canadian capital Ottawa, demanding the withdrawal of Gulf forces from Bahrain, marking the eighth anniversary of the raid of the Emirate and Saudi forces to Bahrain.

Activists held a photo exhibition in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, coinciding with the eighth anniversary of the entry of Saudi and Emirati troops (within the framework of the Peninsula Shield forces) to Bahrain to crush pro-democracy protests.

Turkey said on Thursday that Interpol had issued red notices - asking police worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition - for 20 people regarding the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Ten Saudi women detained last year in a sweeping crackdown on activists appeared in court on Wednesday, an official said, intensifying scrutiny of the kingdom's human rights record.

The Bahraini Football Association (BFA) issued a statement supporting the decision of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to cancel the Qatari "beIN sport" channels' monopoly on Asian continent matches and competitions in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The trial of Loujain al-Hathloul, one of nearly a dozen prominent Saudi Arabian women’s rights activists detained since last year, will begin on Wednesday, her family said on Twitter.

Saudi ambassador to Manama Abdullah Al-Sheikh said that Bahrain will receive the second payment of Gulf support "soon".

Saudi Arabia's air defense systems shot down a drone over the kingdom on Friday, the Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen said, and it accused the country's Houthi fighters of launching the aircraft and targeting civilians.

European countries will urge Saudi Arabia this week to release detained activists and cooperate with a U.N.-led probe into the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, in the first rebuke of the kingdom at the Human Rights Council, diplomats and campaigners said.

Lockheed Martin Corp will receive the first payment toward the installation a $15 billion missile defense system in Saudi Arabia as part of a $110 billion arms package the Trump administration said it negotiated with the Kingdom in 2017, the Pentagon said on Monday.

Saudi Arabia is using its counter-terrorism laws to silence activists, including women, in violation of international law guaranteeing freedom of speech, United Nations human rights experts said on Monday.

Saudi Arabia's cabinet has approved electronic visas for foreign visitors to attend sporting events and concerts, local media reported, as the world's top oil exporter tries to diversify its economy and open up its society.

Saudi Arabia's public prosecutor is preparing the trials of detainees, identified by watchdog groups as women's rights activists, after completing its investigations, state news agency SPA said on Friday.